Stephanie Sheppard points out one of her award-winning photographs at her opening reception.
by Dave Warner
Stephanie Sheppard is a freelance photographer, who recently relocated back to the East Coast after thirty-seven years of photographing in Los Angeles. Little Falls became home for her in October 2019. The new topography and landscape drew a curiosity that was lacking for her in California.
Sheppard said, “I had all these photographs in my house from California because I’d done two back-to-back shows there, and many of them had been in those shows. I thought that it was rather silly to have them sitting in a box. I got a letter from the library about them raising money so I thought perfect.”
She went to a library board meeting and told them about all the photographs she had and that she wanted to donate them to raise money for the organization. “They thought that was a great idea.”
Most of the images are matted and not framed because it would have cost about $5,000.00 to do so. “I’m not that rich,” she stated.
A significant number of the photographs were taken in California and St Louis. Sheppard said that many of them have won awards.
She says that she’s now moving in a whole new direction with her photography. “One of the reasons I couldn’t stand being in California anymore was that if I saw another cactus or palm tree I thought I would go out of my mind.”
“So now, I’m going way deeper into black and white. I love color, but I’m doing projects. They tend to lean towards black and white for fine-art reasons. I’ve done several projects since I’ve been back here, including one I’d like to do in a book. All landscapes, and all around Little Falls.”
Sheppard said she did two projects while locked up during Covid as well. “Those are really interesting because I went nuts with abstract and did all kinds of things. So now, I’m moving more into abstracts.”
She also loves submitting to competitions, and she’s awaiting the results from three of those submissions. “One is in New York…a thirty-foot screen just up from 34th and Broadway, so yes, sign me up! I’m waiting to hear about that, but it won’t be until the end of July before I find out.”
Sheppard says that she’s constantly trying to reinvent herself. “If I don’t, I get bored, but it really keeps you young. As a photographer when you start doing new things, it really invigorates you.”
In August 2022 she will be the focus of a documentary film, revealing her career as a singer-songwriter.
The photographs at the library are matted and 11×14 inches, each selling for $25.00. Unmated photographs are also available at $10.00 each. For more information visit https://www.lflibrary.org/
